I played Hitman: BloodMoney ages ago and i liked it very much....so i tried Absolution with anticipation...and I was disappointed.
Like other have already stated the main problems are :
1) Revamped Stealth system..but in a bad way. Very different from previous installation. Games now relies with ISTINCT system that is some sort of "energy bar" that can be spent to perform some action inI played Hitman: BloodMoney ages ago and i liked it very much....so i tried Absolution with anticipation...and I was disappointed.
Like other have already stated the main problems are :
1) Revamped Stealth system..but in a bad way. Very different from previous installation. Games now relies with ISTINCT system that is some sort of "energy bar" that can be spent to perform some action in the game..like predicts walking path of guards, see enemyes trough walls or avoid to be detected when in diguise
2) Checkpoint save only ...with enemy and objects respawn when you restart... so the player is forced to replay the same scene or the same kill over and over again.
3) No more huge maps but the ambients are now divided in sub-levels. For example garden, ground floor and upper floor of the same house are now different level of the same mission independent one from another ...and no, you can't go back or skip a level...and that added a lot of linearity.
4) Disguise mechanichs have been worsened so now in a single game you have to change 3 or 4 time in a row just to pass a corridor...because people can easy see trough your disguise when you are close to them.
5) Some annoing A.I. bugs like enemy that can see you from distance looking trough a wall
6) A lot of railroading.. the player is forced to do a specific action to make progress in a certain section of a level...for exaple to enter a room you have to activate an hidrant or make a loud noise to distract guards.
7) Weird points system....now silent killing or subduing an anemy actually subtract points instead of adding them
8) Weapons and gear system is also changed....here you cant's choose yor gear beforehand and you can only use what you find during mission...so you can't choose your approach to the assignment and you can't play a mission the way you liked to. Most of what you find in this game also is the same over and over again with the same impact on gameplay.
9) Missions trophies can easilly spoilers the mission....when you play and press F1 you will see the trophies of the current mission....but lot's of this trophies will tell you beforehand what yoll' find in this assignemnt (what gear you'll find, how you can poison a target, how you can avoid a guad and so on)...
Not reccomended…Expand

I'm going to be very unfair here but this game made me very angry very quickly. First, 47 actually has MAGIC POWERS now, he can see enemies through walls, remove their suspicion levels and do other tricks, and it actually requires MANA (cleverly dubbed "Instinct") to do it. Agent 47 is Corvo now. But that's not the main problem. The main problem is that checkpoints don't work at all sinceI'm going to be very unfair here but this game made me very angry very quickly. First, 47 actually has MAGIC POWERS now, he can see enemies through walls, remove their suspicion levels and do other tricks, and it actually requires MANA (cleverly dubbed "Instinct") to do it. Agent 47 is Corvo now. But that's not the main problem. The main problem is that checkpoints don't work at all since a lot of the stuff that you've done is simply reset. How are you supposed to construct a precise plan when every single mistake means that you have to restart the entire goddamn level or start killing left and right, which, as you might notice, is the exact opposite of what you're supposed to do in Hitman. It seems that you simply can't play this game without improvising and that's something that 47 should never ever have to do. If you have any love for our bald assassin, skip this game.…Expand

'Hitman: Absolution' is the 'Deus Ex: Invisible War' of the Hitman series. That seems the best way to put it.

Basically, if you like sandbox gameplay, the many, many clever/quirky ways to mangle your targets, collecting guns from missions, upgrading them.. if you liked the earlier Hitman games, then this is not one of them.
Compared to the earlier games, it just isn't any good,'Hitman: Absolution' is the 'Deus Ex: Invisible War' of the Hitman series. That seems the best way to put it.

Basically, if you like sandbox gameplay, the many, many clever/quirky ways to mangle your targets, collecting guns from missions, upgrading them.. if you liked the earlier Hitman games, then this is not one of them.

Compared to the earlier games, it just isn't any good, almost something else entirely. You can pass on this one until it is going a fraction of the price in a year or two.
Or pass on it forever.…Expand

Poor design decisions makes the latest installment of the Hitman series a huge disappointment. Gameplay has been dumbed down like we have seen in countless other modern installments of popular franchises and we seldom see any improvement from the original games that made the series. The first thing I noticed is the game crashes on average about once every 5 minutes on my GTX670, which isPoor design decisions makes the latest installment of the Hitman series a huge disappointment. Gameplay has been dumbed down like we have seen in countless other modern installments of popular franchises and we seldom see any improvement from the original games that made the series. The first thing I noticed is the game crashes on average about once every 5 minutes on my GTX670, which is certainly not a good introduction to a full price release. Controlling Agent 47 when locked behind cover is a chore, as you cannot move him when your camera is at a certain angle, feeling like you are snagged on something. For a stealth game such as Hitman, the checkpoint system is nothing short of disgusting. Reloading a checkpoint causes all of the enemies that you have previously dispatched, including the ones prior to the checkpoint to respawn, resulting in the need to sometimes start the level all over again. The AI is absolutely terrible, after reloading a checkpoint and everything respawning, I was caught in a gun fight with a few guys in front of me. The AI behind me, clearly hearing the gunshots, become totally confused and make no attempt to surround me whatsoever, instead just standing at their posts. Visuals are fairly nice, though commenting on graphics has no place in a review, the gameplay comes first. If you are new stealth junkie to the series, go and play dishonored, if you are a fan of the Hitman series like myself, avert your eyes and forget that this ever happened.…Expand

In short: awwww man, they broke it. Frustrating game because it has so much potential. The graphics feel smooth and the mechanics are better than ever but they removed all planning, thinking and stealth (actual stealth - welcome to cover-based running). You still have different approaches but you can't plan any of them and often have to choose one at random because the consequences areIn short: awwww man, they broke it. Frustrating game because it has so much potential. The graphics feel smooth and the mechanics are better than ever but they removed all planning, thinking and stealth (actual stealth - welcome to cover-based running). You still have different approaches but you can't plan any of them and often have to choose one at random because the consequences are unclear. In one mission you can choose to disguise yourself as an electrician or try to sneak in around the back but you have no way of knowing what the difference is so you choose randomly. You can't bring your own weapons or gear either, so the game comes up with the most stupid excuses to place sniper rifles and other useful things on site for you to find. It doesn't make sense.

The world feels alive and each character has their own story, which is cool, but in the end your role is merely that of a spectator and not a protagonist. You're there to watch in awe how cool the world looks, not to play in it. Such a shame - great potential, awful execution.…Expand

Its a shame how brutally square enix murdered this once beautiful franchise and wats worse they have overhyped this trash for almost 2 years.Game is absolute trash as die hard fans have been rating on that page.The best thing i did after finishing absolution was to reinstall Blood Money and realize what die hard fans have loved about this hitman franchise for a decade now been ruined byIts a shame how brutally square enix murdered this once beautiful franchise and wats worse they have overhyped this trash for almost 2 years.Game is absolute trash as die hard fans have been rating on that page.The best thing i did after finishing absolution was to reinstall Blood Money and realize what die hard fans have loved about this hitman franchise for a decade now been ruined by linear gameplay n trashy broken mechanics with sandbox levels gone(i wont go in detail as u knw already i ur an old hitman fan).20th November marks the eulogy of hitman franchise.There goes another iconic character just like Sam Fisher :(…Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
Just finished the singleplayer campaign, and I have to admit: I'm glad the game is over. Hitman Absolution in my opinion is not a good game. The storyline if you can call it that is absurd and poorly written, the dialogues are ridiculously cheesy. Every single character in the game is one-dimensional and so exaggerated it's laughable. Also, I despise the depiction of women in this game, they are either the videogame standard "damsel in distress", pure sex objects, or the leather latex ninja killer nuns trying to murder you... seriously?
The design of most missions is boring, linear, predictable, especially of the short missions. It seems the designers tried to make this a pseudo hollywood-like experience, but they fail miserably, especially due to the bad story and characters as mentioned above. Controls are okay, except for button mashing when performing certain actions what for, what's the point in this? And of course the game contains several quicktime events worst mechanics in modern videogames, which does not at all fit into this game. The checkpoint based gamesave system is unfair and broken, very annoying, as is the mission evaluation system which often does not give correct score when finishing mission.
I loved the previous Hitman games, but this one is not a good sequel. Why didn't they make more missions like the "King of Chinatown"? That was the only part in the game I liked. Their "story" unfolding afterwards no thank you.…Expand

People who didn't like "Blood Money" seem to like "Absolution". Need I say more?

Extreme linear missions without any planning-phase!
No more weapon-upgrades or loadout-selection (!),
A braindead "disguise"-system that forces you to "sneak" and crawl like a kid who watched too much spy-movies.
Quick-Time-Event-Fighting. (You've read right: numb quick-time-event-fights! The cancer ofPeople who didn't like "Blood Money" seem to like "Absolution". Need I say more?

Extreme linear missions without any planning-phase!
No more weapon-upgrades or loadout-selection (!),
A braindead "disguise"-system that forces you to "sneak" and crawl like a kid who watched too much spy-movies.
Quick-Time-Event-Fighting. (You've read right: numb quick-time-event-fights! The cancer of modern gaming dumbed down even further.)

No more cool mission-score-system like in Blood money.
Instead you have to bare with a "High-score-system" that pops up stupiditly in your face while you are midst a mission.

All of it is wrapped up in a pathetic and illogical story.

Don't buy this shiny garbage and don't belive any of the high ratings!…Expand

This is one of the most hallow games I've ever played. I literally felt empty upon completion. The story is a mess, the gameplay and level design is inconsistent, the implementation of a "Instinct" feature, and also voice acting that is laughably bad. I'd say it's not as bad Splinter Cell: Conviction, but the problem being that this game is worse. There is no reason to play this game atThis is one of the most hallow games I've ever played. I literally felt empty upon completion. The story is a mess, the gameplay and level design is inconsistent, the implementation of a "Instinct" feature, and also voice acting that is laughably bad. I'd say it's not as bad Splinter Cell: Conviction, but the problem being that this game is worse. There is no reason to play this game at all. It is the most vapid and empty game I've ever played in my life.…Expand

Beautiful game destroyed by its UI/HUD. Don't get me wrong. The menu interface is one of the best interfaces I've seen; but the game UI is terrible. It removes all immersion. And I'm too bad to play purist. Why didn't they just make customizable difficulty that would suit everyone instead of making 5 different difficulties that almost doesn't suit anyone?

1.This not a open ended or open world game any more.
2.there is no map.
3.disguise does not properly work any more without bloody instinct.
4.You cant see through key hole.
5. everything re spawns after loading a save point and therefore you cant experiment.
6.And the list goes on.. Graphics alone cant save this game.They have totally destroyed a fine game.

I bought the game 1 month ago on Steam as the initial User reviews weren't great. Boy, oh, boy I should've listen to those user reviews. I have 42minutes of playing time and that was enough for me. The game has been significantly dumbed down for younger audience, you are constantly spoon-fed wherever you go. Very linear and enough cut scenes to make yourself believe you weren't in a game.I bought the game 1 month ago on Steam as the initial User reviews weren't great. Boy, oh, boy I should've listen to those user reviews. I have 42minutes of playing time and that was enough for me. The game has been significantly dumbed down for younger audience, you are constantly spoon-fed wherever you go. Very linear and enough cut scenes to make yourself believe you weren't in a game.

Its now on steam for $5, wait until it gets cheaper, then it will be worth it.…Expand

Way too linear. Half of the game's missions are "Go from point A to B", you cant choose your equipment at the start, meaning you'll have to play with the weapons the designers chose to give you, which are pretty much always the same. The disguises are useless unless you use something called instict, which is some sort of mana bar that depletes each time you walk by somebody wearing theWay too linear. Half of the game's missions are "Go from point A to B", you cant choose your equipment at the start, meaning you'll have to play with the weapons the designers chose to give you, which are pretty much always the same. The disguises are useless unless you use something called instict, which is some sort of mana bar that depletes each time you walk by somebody wearing the same outfit you do. While it does make sense that a waitress in a restaurant knows you dont work there even if you have their outfit, it makes no sense that every single cop can tell you are not one of them unless you use your instinct bar and watch 47 cover his face with his hand while he walks by, then its cool. Instinct also lets you see through walls. I dont know why they had to remove pretty much everything fans liked about Hitman and add stuff that doesnt belong in a Hitman title.…Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
If you are a CoD fan then you should give this game a try - because it is designed for you. The game will hold your hands through from the beginning to the end and it is designed for a literally dumb audience. With the press of a button you can use wallhack and see where all the gaurds are about to go, and you instantly have hints within the corridoor shooter levels where literally everything is scripted. If you expect a true Hitman title then you will most likely be dissapointed, though.

Absolution shines in graphics, improved stealth system, animations, lightning sound, and a few other features. But it falls short in many other areas and it literally throws much of what makes a hitman game a hitman game - out of the window - while it embrace and directly copy and paste features and even partly formulas from batman AA, splinter cell conviction, and even Red Dead Redemption
with its 'draw gun' minigame and other games. The storyline is uninteresting, uninspired, contains a lot of childish and rather idiotic characters telling a lot of cliché lines. (exmple: Dexter Blake, the great villian, had a masterplan to sell genetically superior kid assasins for 10m bucks each.)
The levels in the game is often very small and streamlined and you often have to sneak in pre-defined, corridoor-like paths. Weapon, dumpsters, gaurds, cover - all of it is place at convinient places. More focus on stealth and kills, and almost no focus on strategy and creativity. The type of gameplay has more in common with Splinter Cell Conviction than Hitman. Disguise system is broken. Gaurds can see through walls at times. Your cover gets blown all the time because everyone - and I mean everyone - for some reason raises suspicion against you. You can't choose what type of equipment and weapons you want to use. You can't pick locks anymore. You can't look through keyholes. You can't open or close doors. You can't save the game manually. Sniper rifles and other weapons are magically drawn out from thin air. Weapons and dumpsters are placed at very obvious places. Gameplay is extremely linear and offers almost no challange. In terms of innovation this game does not impress me. They've copied and pasted features from other games, such as xrayvision (Batman Arkham Asylum), draw-grun function (RDR) and many aspects from Splinter Cell. They abandone the unique hitman formula and made it to another generic game. This game shines in the visuals, but lacks in many other ways, and its pathetic to see how much it lacks in innovation compared to previous titles.…Expand

most worst game ever played....
i think "hitman 4 blood money" in 2004 was farrr better than this game....
i can't feel that i'm playing as a hitman...
this game changed the hitman like a ****
squre enix fooled us with those high graphical video.....
never going to play game from squre enix from now....

The game betrays the spirit of Hitman games. It was turned into a action centered games, where you run and hide in corridors. Hitman was about solving a puzzle to killa s pecific victim, now the game has turned into a random action game. Dont do it. Dont buy it.

Simply the worst Hitman in the series, it's not even really a Hitman game. All the fun of Hitman, the big open sandbox levels that encourage exploration are gone, weapon select at the start of each level is gone, the cool music from Jesper Kyd is gone. Hitman games were always game play over story, Absolution is story over game play (it's not even a good story). Most of it encouragesSimply the worst Hitman in the series, it's not even really a Hitman game. All the fun of Hitman, the big open sandbox levels that encourage exploration are gone, weapon select at the start of each level is gone, the cool music from Jesper Kyd is gone. Hitman games were always game play over story, Absolution is story over game play (it's not even a good story). Most of it encourages sneaking about without being seen trying to make it from one door to the next, it's just no fun and nothing like a Hitman game.…Expand

If you liked Blood money and bought this game as many did because Hitman Blood-Money was just a top shelf hitman game, Only to be presented with some form of Linear choiceless rail driven drivel story that side tracked combat and cutscenes and presented you with a wonderful 0 HITS

This is just like the Tomb Raider Reboot these newer developers should just stop and please PLEASE eitherIf you liked Blood money and bought this game as many did because Hitman Blood-Money was just a top shelf hitman game, Only to be presented with some form of Linear choiceless rail driven drivel story that side tracked combat and cutscenes and presented you with a wonderful 0 HITS

This is just like the Tomb Raider Reboot these newer developers should just stop and please PLEASE either get a job in something else or KILL THEM SELVES.…Expand

I'm a big fan of the series. I am 5 missions in and it absolution has been a bit disappointing. I really don't care about the story, only about the hits. And the hits have been pretty bad until now. There really has been only 1 mission out of 5 that you actually get to do a hit. First mission you play for like 45 minutes so you can get to the target and a cutscene cuts in (excuse the pun)I'm a big fan of the series. I am 5 missions in and it absolution has been a bit disappointing. I really don't care about the story, only about the hits. And the hits have been pretty bad until now. There really has been only 1 mission out of 5 that you actually get to do a hit. First mission you play for like 45 minutes so you can get to the target and a cutscene cuts in (excuse the pun) and you watch while he actually kills the target. That pretty much has been the most anti-climatic mission end in the whole series, and possibly in gaming lol.

Since the disguise system is abysmal, the levels are pretty linear, the game feels more like a stealth puzzle rather than a sandbox hitman game. You just can't improvise and do a hit that it is your own... not that the levels are actual hits mind you. First lvl cutscene hits, second lvl is the only true hit, third level you play to get to a shaft, fourth level is about running on rails from the cops, and so on and so forth.

Next no weapons selection before the level which makes sense since the levels are so linear it wouldn't make sense to let you bring something that will break said linearity.

In essence, you do no true hits, highly linear, bad disguese system, bad save system. All in all it is a pretty frustrating puzzle game where you have to replay long stretches for the smallest mistake.…Expand

As a Hitman fan it was literally painful to play through this game. I followed the buildup of this game from the very start. As soon as IO Interactive muttered the words "Agent 47 is now on the run" something inside me said that Absolution was going to be bad. It turns out my inner feeling wasn't wrong. It's not that it's a 'bad' game, it's an 'ok-ish' Splintercell Conviction clone withAs a Hitman fan it was literally painful to play through this game. I followed the buildup of this game from the very start. As soon as IO Interactive muttered the words "Agent 47 is now on the run" something inside me said that Absolution was going to be bad. It turns out my inner feeling wasn't wrong. It's not that it's a 'bad' game, it's an 'ok-ish' Splintercell Conviction clone with some bugs and stupid broken A.I. But as a Hitman game it is very bad, the worst in the series in fact. They have taken everything that made Hitman so fun and special, threw it in the bin, then replaced it with a linear story driven action game. Playing through it was like watching a terrible B Movie, it was so bad i just had to keep watching/playing through.…Expand

Don't be fooled by shiny graphics of Hitman: Abomination (or Assassin's Conviction: Saboteur Lynch Retardation), there is nothing good besides graphics. Gameplay is totally broken dumbed down, its not even hitman anymore, everything we loved it for was removed, only some barely working rudiments was left. It is yet another Conviction, but worse, everything you hated in Conviction,Don't be fooled by shiny graphics of Hitman: Abomination (or Assassin's Conviction: Saboteur Lynch Retardation), there is nothing good besides graphics. Gameplay is totally broken dumbed down, its not even hitman anymore, everything we loved it for was removed, only some barely working rudiments was left. It is yet another Conviction, but worse, everything you hated in Conviction, Saboteur, Assassin's Creed and Kane Lynch in terms of Stealth and gunplay is here, concentrated in extreme doses that may kill you. Also lensflare madness, started by Kane Lynch 2 and continued by Syndicate is here, head of 47 shines like supernova explosion to blind you from truth THIS GAME IS UTTER TRASH. It not just abandoned old Hitman gameplay, its simply broken everywhere and doesnt work, and its so primitive and generic. Let me list you few of many game design flaws: 1) Saves doesnt work, once you restart checkpoints every NPC object will be respawned, your stats would be reset to state of beginning of level, so you better to restart level completely and dont die or exit until you finish it. 2) Disguise doesnt work, its connected to stupid INSTINCT MANA that could be gained by killing and hiding bodies, or not gained at all on professional modes. Without using instinct, which magically removes suspicion, your cover will be blown in 5-10 second from 30 meters. So you are forced to use instinct in any mode, but cant on pro modes, and without instinct there you would not be even able to blend into area. It only barely working on easiest mode. 3) Pro modes and especially PURIST broken and rushed addition, game was not designed with these modes in mind, these modes not balanced at all, they simply locking features for retards, without even thinking that game designed that way so it cant be played without INSTINCT, and without thinking to compensate somehow lack of these features. It cant be played on PRO mode if you want to use disguise, blown covers makes game really frustrating, and pushing you to reastart, which will lead you to flaw 1 broken saves. On pro mode you will have only option to use covers Conviction style. 4) 80% of game is linear stealth cover shooter, only about 20% of levels reminds old Hitman games sandbox, but they all made using generic objects and repetitive pattern, lacking about 80% features you had in previous game, so its simply boring, primitive and most likely you will screw up trying to go Silent Assassin way. 5) AI is deaf and blind, totally dumb, glitching a lot. They dont see and dont hear anything except for you in disguise or killing. 6) You cant select inventory for levels and only limited to very few objects you can find on level. Most of unlocks and tools useless and can be only used in contracts mode. 7) Due of nature of stupid prerendered cut-scenes, where 47 appears only in his suit or any pre-defined suit, once cut-scene over you will loose your disguise and default suit will magically appear on you, same happens with guns, you enter the room dressed one way, but after cut scene you dressed another way. Really stupid, even cheapest games from 90th era never had such a flaw, Hitman 1 was better than this. 8) Scoring makes no sense, its not what it used to be in previous game. You are encouraged to do not stealthy things and some stealthy things not awarded at all, other non stealthy things not punished. 9) Level design is very bad, it may look good it terms of art, but its really bad in terms of gameplay logic. Every possible guard have always dumpster nearby to hide their bodies, how handy... for retards, very few, like 3-5 objects that allows you kill somehow are available per level, generic dumpsters, fuseboxes, pits, balconies, there is no unique content that we saw in Blood Money or previous Hitman games, every gameplay object is just a copy-pasted repetitive trash. 10) Whole instinct gameplay is retarded and must be removed from game, but instead it was not even removed from purist mode. 11) UI is huge, ugly and was designed by captain obvious, why in the world you need to have giant icon of equipped weapon or disguise if you can just look at hitman's and see his weapon and suit? 12) You cant peek through keyholes (surely, u now have magic wallhack cheat to replace that) 13) You cant even close doors, they only closed automatically 14) Worst thing most of your assassination targets are killed in FREAKING CUTSCENES, or not, actually most of time you will see cutscene where BEST KILLER IN THE WORLD, FAILING TO KILL HIS TARGET 15) Story may look like good one, but in fact its typical set of hollywood cliches and yet another plagiarism with nonsense ending. 16) Realism was lost completely, no briefcase, weapons spawns of Hitman ass, ammo picked up by legs. There are more issues, i cant compact them in 5000 chars limit. This game is near 5 of 10, but since it called Hitman, and since its not Himan at all, only 0 of 10.
P.S.-MC was bribed to remove my review from top?…Expand

disguise system is appalling hence the whole game is pointless. if that was to be fixed the game would be mediocre OK. graphics are great but gameplay wise it feels like a step back compared to the previous installment.

Tedious, Repetitious, monotonous, linear, Non-realistic with a very bogus absurd story...
you weapons just vanish once you start a new mission, Combat and engaging is relatively easier then stealth playing.. the disguise system is useless, and nonsensical, why can't you keep hiding your head if you have no instinct left? Does agent 47 need some sort of a super-power energy to lift hisTedious, Repetitious, monotonous, linear, Non-realistic with a very bogus absurd story...
you weapons just vanish once you start a new mission, Combat and engaging is relatively easier then stealth playing.. the disguise system is useless, and nonsensical, why can't you keep hiding your head if you have no instinct left? Does agent 47 need some sort of a super-power energy to lift his hand? And naming that "thing" as instinct is clearly ridiculous, it's more of an ESP! And the ranking system is fu*ked, i usually get "Professional" in a perfectly stealthy playing, Yet i did get "Shadow" more then once when i killed all enemies and surely engaged in an open combat during the process.. And agent 47 character does help a lot in making the game much more boring, he always has the same expression, lacks charisma, and the creators are clearly trying so hard to make him look like a fearless badass, but all that came was a vague emotionless dull robot.. I don't recommend buying the game, and if you did i recommend you through it through the window and RUN RUN RUN! cuz agent 47 executes everybody, even the redundant useless least-important villains in the game just to make the game longer.…Expand

I really enjoyed the Hitman series on the PS2 and I was excited when I got this game. However, the terrible gameplay and AI assassinated any enjoyment I could have.
The story is pretty lame, but that’s fine with me. I can live with that as that is not the reason I would play a Hitman game. Sure the graphics are great, but what does it matter when the gameplay stinks.Don’t bother.

I really enjoyed the Hitman series on the PS2 and I was excited when I got this game. However, the terrible gameplay and AI assassinated any enjoyment I could have.

The story is pretty lame, but that’s fine with me. I can live with that as that is not the reason I would play a Hitman game. Sure the graphics are great, but what does it matter when the gameplay stinks. The controls for the PC version of this are downright just bad. It is just another bad console port. Probably the most irritating part was actually the lack of freedom of what you wanted to do. In previous Hitman games you could find unique ways to complete your objective. Here, there are MULTIPLE times where the game will not let you dress in a disguise to get pass some guards or blend in. It’s like certain characters that would make things easier or logical are off limits because the developers want you to complete the mission some other way. To me that is not what the Hitman games were about. Additionally, there are huge AI problems here. You have like 50 police officers searching a building for a guy and somehow everybody knows everybody. If you get too close or walk too fast even in disguise, uh oh! That must be him because everybody knows everyone! Just so many things that make no sense.

I made it to about 10 hours in and thought to myself why I am playing this terrible game. Time to uninstall.

Hitman: Absolution is one of the biggest gaming disappointments this year. All I wanted was a sequel for Blood Money and instead got a failed experiment of mixing Hitman and Splinter Cell: Conviction. The open-world choices of Hitman games going back a decade are now replaced with a mediocre story and a game on rails. I wish I didn't get this on Steam so I could return it.

First of all this is my first Hitman game but it was on sale for 16$ so i can not resist that low price. In the beginning I enjoyed the whole stealth and assassination thing and it was fun, really cool experience. After 10 hours I uninstalled the game. Why? Because every single NPC has an eagle's eye and this is not realistic rather unfair. The checkpoint system in this game is totallyFirst of all this is my first Hitman game but it was on sale for 16$ so i can not resist that low price. In the beginning I enjoyed the whole stealth and assassination thing and it was fun, really cool experience. After 10 hours I uninstalled the game. Why? Because every single NPC has an eagle's eye and this is not realistic rather unfair. The checkpoint system in this game is totally irrelevant. The game itself looks good but the gameplay with this disguise system is really poor. (It's hard to avoid bad words...) If this game is on sale you can give it a try but wait at lest 75% off. With "free saving" the game would be less bad (8/10).…Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
The first hour of Absolution was like "Finally! After six years of waiting 47's back and I'm crawling through the linear tutorial mission as always! Wow, the guards AI is fine!" etc. I was waiting for the real game to start. For now, I've edended up in orphanage and I got to turn on four electrical switches. This is the goal of the level, switches. Ghost-like, urban legend killer is now forced to pull switches or open doors on a ratcage-like levels, that makes absolutely no sense! There is no freeform gameplay anymore, you are, literally, forced to do the thing that developers tells you to do. At the Purist difficulty, there's even more of absurdity: you got ONLY ONE way through mission that really works. There's no Hitman anymore. I just wish the Real 47 will come and kill that bald bandaged clown disguising as him in Absolution. The most awful fact is that you can see all the buried potential of the game. Levels are cutted to parts with doors with NO loading, which signs that the game once WAS open-ended Hitman that we once liked. As the Hitman game, this piece of poo gets 0 from me. As the Deus Ex HR with bald guy instead of Adam Jensen it gets 6 points. P.S.: Actually IOI already released Jensen suit as DLC, what an irony.…Expand

I liked Hitman Blood Money so much i bought it twice, once on Playstation 2, then again on Xbox 360, still play it today. I bought Hitman Absolution on day of release and traded it in already it was that bad. All they needed to do was take Hitman Blood Money and improve the AI. Instead they took all the fun of Hitman out. Last game i ever buy from IO.

They ripped the soul out of Agent 47....this no longer feels like a Hitman game. You could easily take Sam Fisher from Blacklist and insert him into this world and call it Splinter Cell Absolution, and there would be no discernible difference, because this franchise has been razed by corporate greed and the lust for profit. As a result, saves are completely gone and replaced by dreadedThey ripped the soul out of Agent 47....this no longer feels like a Hitman game. You could easily take Sam Fisher from Blacklist and insert him into this world and call it Splinter Cell Absolution, and there would be no discernible difference, because this franchise has been razed by corporate greed and the lust for profit. As a result, saves are completely gone and replaced by dreaded checkpoints, so sometimes you must re-attempt the entire level after being spotted. You cannot choose your gear and/or purchase upgrades and you cannot walk among the crowd freely without arousing suspicion...and that is what kills the game and makes it feel like a generic stealth romp. Some of the signature kills are fun and humorous (ice cream truck - Lenny), but they are shrouded by frustration due to the broken stealth system.....the environments are sometimes very constricted yet there are a plethora of enemies littered on the map, so good luck trying not to get spotted. With the inclusion of instinct, I don't know what they were hoping to accomplish...and player actions which were available in the stealth genre a decade before this game was released, like whistling or knocking on walls to arouse suspicion, aren't included?? The game design here also makes you wonder, because little things like being spotted with a full face mask covering your entire head and head and having the enemy start **** in their pants with sadist blood-lust in their veins upon spotting you makes no logical sense. I urge anyone who hasn't played this to stay away. How many more franchises must be ruined to appeal to the Call of Duty ADHD generation? Assassins Creed, Thief, Mass Effect, Sim City, Batman, Dragon Age, SW: battlefront, fallout, hitman, battlefield, Need for speed, tony hawks, Resident Evil, Splinter Cell, The Sims...the list goes on.…Expand

This game is GARBAGE. I played all the other Hitmans but this is junk. Anything you do gets you targeted. Even if you change disguises after you have been noticed it makes no difference they still know its you. Silent sniper rifles attract attention. This is a real let down. No matter what you do it leads to a gun fight. I like playing Hitman and being stealthy and limiting the amount ofThis game is GARBAGE. I played all the other Hitmans but this is junk. Anything you do gets you targeted. Even if you change disguises after you have been noticed it makes no difference they still know its you. Silent sniper rifles attract attention. This is a real let down. No matter what you do it leads to a gun fight. I like playing Hitman and being stealthy and limiting the amount of dead, but no this game MAKES you have to finish in some BS gun fight. I used C4 to kill a target and was on the other side of the map and they still pin pointed me.…Expand

Don't bother buying this game! You won't be able to play it!
People (including me) can't pass the intro screen.
It's so buggy that I'm not even able to play the game.
Not buying another game from Square Enix anytime soon!

I'm still playing Hitman Blood Money 7yrs on, every level is such a joy to replay through again and again. Unfortunately the same can't be said about Hitman Absolution. It's not like a Hitman game and the levels are very linear story driven trash that aren't even worth a second play through. AVOID this game, rent it or buy it second hand, don't waste your money. Hitman Blood Money is aI'm still playing Hitman Blood Money 7yrs on, every level is such a joy to replay through again and again. Unfortunately the same can't be said about Hitman Absolution. It's not like a Hitman game and the levels are very linear story driven trash that aren't even worth a second play through. AVOID this game, rent it or buy it second hand, don't waste your money. Hitman Blood Money is a masterpiece, Absolution is a total disaster that has killed a once great franchise.…Expand

This is honestly the biggest disappointment in my entire 25 year experience of gaming. Hitman was never good because of flashy kills, big drama or fancy graphics. What made this game stand out was the sandbox-like environment where you have to use analytical thinking and make the circumstances work for you. What I had the unpleasure to experience with Absolution was quite different.

It would be good game, if it have:
- open world
- saves
- weapon selection
- saves
- map
- SAVES!

What's wrong with developers, which want to ruin silent killing game and make some one-error-replay-full-mission-game with QTE which you could not break?! Sorry, this game is not worth the money at all (even with 60% discount which i find).

It is not Hitman. It is Splinter Cell: Absolution. New developers just don't understand the idea of Hitman series. As Splinter Cell: Absolution it is not a bad game, but as Hitman: Absolution it gets 0 from me.

A disaster... if you are a fan of the previous games, this is completely different.. like a completely different title; this is NOT the Hitman we knew. The Single Player is very short, something obvious as the team spent time creating a multiplayer option - a HUGE fail - neglecting the SP mode actually. I finished the game in about 8 hours and 1/4 of them was loading previous saves to getA disaster... if you are a fan of the previous games, this is completely different.. like a completely different title; this is NOT the Hitman we knew. The Single Player is very short, something obvious as the team spent time creating a multiplayer option - a HUGE fail - neglecting the SP mode actually. I finished the game in about 8 hours and 1/4 of them was loading previous saves to get a better score. You are not even allowed to hit someone unconscious without losing points - the only thing you are allowed to do is sneak, anything else ruins your score... you are an ASSASSIN FFS! Yes, you must be able to kill, hide bodies, and use disguises without this ruining your score completely... YOU ARE an A-S-S-A-S-S-I-N! Guns are useless (I swear I didn't even fire 1 single bullet in the whole game - oh and you can't even customize your guns!) I used the fiberwire (my most used and favorite in previous Hitmans) like 3 times maximum in the whole story, as if you kill someone, you lose... great job (The Fiber Wire is Agent47's trademark tool FFS!) Additionally, the game fails on options such as sneaking - it is really frustrating to be able for someone to see you through walls (major bugs.) Not what i expected, I do NOT recommend it - DONT LET its fancy graphics fool you!…Expand

Just sad, The storyline straight out of a movie zo bizarre series, about the game mechanics very fair and very unfree across the stage.
The nuns left over, this is not the movie machete, please.
And most importantly, do not miss this game have 47 kills not speak!

Much smaller levels, very few paths to your target, very linear level design, no black market, no syringes or other interesting assassin tools, not many interesting ways to kill your targets, little and more often than not zero history behind your targets or any motivation to kill them besides them wanting to kill you.

Environments and targets have very little variation, most of theMuch smaller levels, very few paths to your target, very linear level design, no black market, no syringes or other interesting assassin tools, not many interesting ways to kill your targets, little and more often than not zero history behind your targets or any motivation to kill them besides them wanting to kill you.

Environments and targets have very little variation, most of the environments are in the US, the vast majority of which are in North Dakota and New York. Has an odd underlying crude sexual theme which simply doesn't fit very well with this game. The game's story focus essentially throws out the premise of being a hitman until its very end.

You can still be spotted by people wearing the same outfit as you as though every gardener on the planet knows one another, and being spotted in any difficulty besides easy is almost always certain death.

Contracts mode puts you in the same levels obviously designed with a linear story in mind. The only freedom it allows in the game's constrictive levels here is the contract's name/description, who you're killing, what single weapon you can choose to start with, and what you are wearing.

All in all, a serious disappointment and downgrade from Blood Money.…Expand

For those who want a quick and easy review: a B game, but a D hitman game.

As for the real review, as many others have pointed out this game appears to have mechanics that were borrowed from several other games. This game really does feel more like Splinter Cell: Conviction than anything else, but they also appear to have borrowed from Assassin's Creed as well. Hitman was all aboutFor those who want a quick and easy review: a B game, but a D hitman game.

As for the real review, as many others have pointed out this game appears to have mechanics that were borrowed from several other games. This game really does feel more like Splinter Cell: Conviction than anything else, but they also appear to have borrowed from Assassin's Creed as well. Hitman was all about planning the perfect assassinations, or your own unique ones. Being in the right place at the right time, hiding your bodies well, and timing everything so you walk out the door just before everyone realized that something was amiss. In this game, however, it felt as though your goal was just to sneak through the level without being seen, and maybe ill a couple of people along the way. I realize they were going for a more story driven fell, but that doesn't mean that they can to condense the whole game into a bunch of micro levels and use mechanics that felt more like an action shooter than a stealth game. Although the game punishes you for killing people, the level design and the fact that the game rewards you for finding big guns make you feel as though you as supposed to go on a killing spree. The company tried to make another Darksiders, were 5 games were put in a blender and coated with an original story. What happened instead was a beloved series has been tarnished, and most likely ended. I don't foresee a return to what Hitman was following this blunder, and for that I am truly sorry.…Expand

After playing the Hitman HD Collection i have to say that this game is a major step down in almost every way. It looks much prettier, but the levels are far far smaller than previous games, this one is much more about the story than it is about the gameplay. I loved how previous Hitmans allowed you to select your weapons before dropping you off in a huge sandbox of fun that allowed you toAfter playing the Hitman HD Collection i have to say that this game is a major step down in almost every way. It looks much prettier, but the levels are far far smaller than previous games, this one is much more about the story than it is about the gameplay. I loved how previous Hitmans allowed you to select your weapons before dropping you off in a huge sandbox of fun that allowed you to explore and do as you wish. With Hitman Absolution the story forces you down narrow paths and small linear levels full of cutsences, hell even some of the hits turn into cutscenes which takes away the point and a huge part of the fun. I don't want a cutscene to take over and kill a target for me i want to do it myself. Not being able to select your own weapons before each level also takes a lot of the fun away. After play Hitman Contracts and Hitman Blood Money i was super excited for Hitman Absolution, but sadly it just didn't feel anything like a Hitman game.…Expand

After 6 years without a new game in the series, Hitman fans were waiting for this and hoping it would be great. I was one of those as I got it day one and was disappointed at how much it changed in those years of development from good to bad. There is no link between the games in the story or any part of the game itself. It is hard to give this game a bad review because of its greatAfter 6 years without a new game in the series, Hitman fans were waiting for this and hoping it would be great. I was one of those as I got it day one and was disappointed at how much it changed in those years of development from good to bad. There is no link between the games in the story or any part of the game itself. It is hard to give this game a bad review because of its great predecessors but there is a major change from the series going backwards as this game had small maps, terrible AI, bad game mechanics (so that there is always a few ways to kill and complete the mission just they are all basically the same) and also the contracts mode which failed poorly because yes in the past players have challenged each other to become the better assassin. But this game was too bad that no one really tried to compete because it can all be done the same way. This was a bad turn in the series and I hope the new game will revive the great Hitman series.…Expand

When I saw the first trailer, and it showed the cover system, and the helicopter chase
I said "Oh, well this certainly looks likes **** and isn't what Hitman is about"
Then I was assured it wasn't the case, but it was, and I knew it.
Let me make this clear for future purchases you might be buying:
When devs show off, or implement a certain game mechanic, they intend for it to beWhen I saw the first trailer, and it showed the cover system, and the helicopter chase
I said "Oh, well this certainly looks likes **** and isn't what Hitman is about"
Then I was assured it wasn't the case, but it was, and I knew it.

Let me make this clear for future purchases you might be buying:
When devs show off, or implement a certain game mechanic, they intend for it to be used, and therefore the game is based around it. Gameplay is the core of any game (not that anime novel), everything else is secondary, so when you see something and go "WELL GOSH YOU DONT HAVE TO USE TO IT OMG CALM DOWN"; dont kid yourself.

A lot of people who like this game didn't have the pleasure of playing the first ones, and I'll let that explain the ratings.…Expand

It is beautiful to look at...but that is where it's beauty ends. A travesty of a game that is just a mash up of every other quick time event,stealth game out there. Might as well have called it Splinter 47: Assassins Conviction.

IO have seemingly thrown away everything that made the Hitman franchise so wonderfully unique. Terrible

Very nice Splinter-cell game. Two Thumbs Up. Very bad Hitman Game. Two Thumbs Down. Really, if 47 had the gadgets Fisher had this would be a kickin Splinter-Cell game. Unfortunatly 47's gadgets are for stealthy take downs and not much else and facing down a 30 NPCs (cudos to the Glacier 2 engine) when you've been spotted for umpteenth time, and no hit in sight, only cutscenes?

Hitman Absolution
It is safe to say I have played all of the hitman games by now. I will say for a fact this is not a hitman game. There are tons of elements that Hitman: Blood Money introduced that were stripped in absolution and that made the hitman franchise "fun". Its fair to say everyone was expecting a Blood Money 2, but not everyone was willing to compromise for anything less.Hitman Absolution
It is safe to say I have played all of the hitman games by now. I will say for a fact this is not a hitman game. There are tons of elements that Hitman: Blood Money introduced that were stripped in absolution and that made the hitman franchise "fun". Its fair to say everyone was expecting a Blood Money 2, but not everyone was willing to compromise for anything less. There are gamers out there who because they are influenced or drawn by the media will select absolution because of the Hollywood style action or the mainstream hype that brought them to the game. And then there are gamers who played the series and have fundamental passion for playing over and over again the addictive and challenging sandboxes. The problem with Absolution: There are no sandboxes. In fact, all the maps are linear. Each map forces the player to move forward in one direction without having the chance of going back and re-experience the same level. Each map is a build up of smaller maps which are all joined together by checkpoints. So by having checkpoints, the developers have destroyed the one peice of formula that made hitman a sucess. A Sandbox. (start taking notes square enix)The developers have also made the gameplay into a "duck and covering" system, where the player is forced to hide and go seek wall after wall, hiding in terror instead of hiding with Absolution. By doing this the player is unable to get any proper "hits," has to use non-refillable instinct in order for a disguise to work, and above all loses points for attempting to kill anyone other than the target. Square Enix has demolished anything that was memorable or likeable about the hitman series and has suggested it all be shoved down a gumball machine for the player to experience. It is too bad that Eidos found its best interest for SE to take over, but im sure this game will please very much the mainstream audience as it was designed to do.…Expand

You can beat the game in about 30 minutes if you just run around and shoot everyone. The combat system is annoying and stupid, running into people and performing fighting animations which are really easy to mess up on. The levels are small. The point system is also a mess. It's easy to mess up in this game and have to restart the whole level. The only good things are the sound, graphics,You can beat the game in about 30 minutes if you just run around and shoot everyone. The combat system is annoying and stupid, running into people and performing fighting animations which are really easy to mess up on. The levels are small. The point system is also a mess. It's easy to mess up in this game and have to restart the whole level. The only good things are the sound, graphics, and story.…Expand

Despite the linear levels and the flawed disguise system, this game fails to encompass the components that made previous Hitman games successful. My biggest complaint is the rating system whereby it is impossible to obtain silent assassin on the majority of the levels since it just involves getting to the next level. Even when a satisfactory rating is obtained, scores can be reset toDespite the linear levels and the flawed disguise system, this game fails to encompass the components that made previous Hitman games successful. My biggest complaint is the rating system whereby it is impossible to obtain silent assassin on the majority of the levels since it just involves getting to the next level. Even when a satisfactory rating is obtained, scores can be reset to zero for no reason or overwritten to a negative number on replay. There is no reward system for completing levels such as gaining money to upgrade weapons except for in multiplayer where it costs an unrealistic amount of money to upgrade anything ($700,000 for a silencer upgrade, PLEASE!). Replaying levels is unsatisfying because agent 47 is only able to carry one weapon. In closing, very disappointed and not a well thought out game.…Expand

I'm sure everything I hate about this game has already been mentioned, and nobody will read this anyway, but let me reiterate it yet again. EVERYTHING that was good about Blood Money has been removed (i.e. customizable gear, sandbox style gameplay, funny kill animations... just to name a few). And apparently rolling from behind one couch to another and crawling through air ducts is moreI'm sure everything I hate about this game has already been mentioned, and nobody will read this anyway, but let me reiterate it yet again. EVERYTHING that was good about Blood Money has been removed (i.e. customizable gear, sandbox style gameplay, funny kill animations... just to name a few). And apparently rolling from behind one couch to another and crawling through air ducts is more realistic than a disguise actually working? Or is it more fun? The answer to those questions is NO, at least for me. I stopped playing when at some point I was wearing some chipmunk suit that covered 47's face, and was still being recognized from across the map. I play without disguises and you end up listening one long, boring NPC conversation after another. I just needed to make sure I add another 0 score for this game, which is why I signed up for this site. It bothered me that people are rating this game positively. I pre-ordered the game because I was in denial that the developers could screw up the franchise too bad after Blood Money, and I wanted to support the developers. Oops! Won't make that mistake again. In fact, anybody involved in this atrocity deserves to be blacklisted from game design, and a job in general, and their kids should starve to death. If I can stop just one person from buying this piece of crap, then I've done something good with my life.…Expand

The series is pretty much dead at this point. The Agent 47 character has been ruined. The gameplay has been ruined. Its very daunting. They would have done perfectly only making Blood Money 2. It wasn't that hard. And they blew it.

This is NOT a Hitman game. They have butchered the disguise system so badly that I can't even stand to play the game. The classic Hitman strategy of disguising as a guard to enter the guard territory is ruined. This game has been severely dumbed down and ruined. The only great thing about it is the combat and the game engine over all. The fact that the game engine is so solid just makes meThis is NOT a Hitman game. They have butchered the disguise system so badly that I can't even stand to play the game. The classic Hitman strategy of disguising as a guard to enter the guard territory is ruined. This game has been severely dumbed down and ruined. The only great thing about it is the combat and the game engine over all. The fact that the game engine is so solid just makes me wish this game had lived up to any of its potential.…Expand

The absence of a quick-save or even a proper working logical checkpoint system makes the game HUGELY frustrating... unplayable in my opinion, unless you like to redo LONG parts of the game over and over. Ridiculous. Such a shame.

As a long time fan of the hitman series, Absolution feels like a kick in the teeth. Gone are the sprawling sandbox style killing grounds of Blood Money - they have been replaced with tiny linear corridors where your goal very rarely even involves taking out a target. The story is embarrassingly bad and full of more holes than a wheel of swiss cheese, yet IO seems intent on forcingAs a long time fan of the hitman series, Absolution feels like a kick in the teeth. Gone are the sprawling sandbox style killing grounds of Blood Money - they have been replaced with tiny linear corridors where your goal very rarely even involves taking out a target. The story is embarrassingly bad and full of more holes than a wheel of swiss cheese, yet IO seems intent on forcing you to absorb it. Each of Absolutions mission objectives is focused on advancing to the next pre-rendered cutscene. I could also mention the **** quick time event driven combat, the broken disguise system where enemies will recognize you from 15 meters away even if you're wearing a mask and have your back turned to them, and the total lack of weapon / equipment selection prior to a mission. If you liked Blood money, stay far away from this It'll break your heart.…Expand

For anyone looking for creative, free, imaginative game play... steer clear of this one. All the planning and decision making that made the previous titles so immersive and stimulating are removed. There is no weapon load out choice, disguises no longer have any purpose and the levels are completely linear where the developer has chosen the course of action you must take as if you were onFor anyone looking for creative, free, imaginative game play... steer clear of this one. All the planning and decision making that made the previous titles so immersive and stimulating are removed. There is no weapon load out choice, disguises no longer have any purpose and the levels are completely linear where the developer has chosen the course of action you must take as if you were on the rails of a very slow moving roller coaster with no ups or downs. Very disappointed as this was a real step back. We really are living in a "dumbed down" period of gaming. Like Dishonored, you are encouraged not to kill people, even though you inevitably have to... you are an assassin after all. Both those titles push you in directions to get punished for being where they push you. Some people seem to like that paradoxical nonsense, but that goes beyond hitting your head against a brick wall when you're allergic to bricks yet are the only thing you can feed on Yeah... I don't get it either. The negative reviews really do represent the game... the positive reviews are for those who enjoy a really shallow, totally directed lacking in content experience.…Expand

A hitman game where you spend 80% of the time not assassinating people, and 15% of the time watching the people you're supposed to assassinate get killed in cutscenes. Nice linear piece of crap. The creativity aspect of other hitman games is mostly gone. Contracts mode is the only redeeming factor. It's interesting that the best part of the game is the part where IO isn't trying to tell aA hitman game where you spend 80% of the time not assassinating people, and 15% of the time watching the people you're supposed to assassinate get killed in cutscenes. Nice linear piece of crap. The creativity aspect of other hitman games is mostly gone. Contracts mode is the only redeeming factor. It's interesting that the best part of the game is the part where IO isn't trying to tell a crappy story and we are free to actually be a hitman.…Expand

This is a "hitman game" where disguises are entirely optional and doesn't really work anyway, where you spend 90% of time NOT killing anybody, and if you touch anyone other than the target you get a big red penalty right on the spot. This is also a "hitman game" where plenty of your supposed contract "targets" either can't be killed or are not killed by you, and agent 47 can somehowThis is a "hitman game" where disguises are entirely optional and doesn't really work anyway, where you spend 90% of time NOT killing anybody, and if you touch anyone other than the target you get a big red penalty right on the spot. This is also a "hitman game" where plenty of your supposed contract "targets" either can't be killed or are not killed by you, and agent 47 can somehow conceal a 4 feet sniper rifle while wearing a t-shirt and pull it out of his ass . My favorite part is when you get rewarded "silent assassin" if you put on a silly wrestler costume and beat someone to death in front of hundreds of audience, yes that's right, a "silent assassin" that slowly beats someone to death in front of a crowd while half naked. You're also rewarded to "collect evidences", yes apparently agent 47 the emotionless contract killing machine is afraid of karma and needs to justify his action by playing PI and find discriminating materials of his targets.…Expand

What a disappointing game. Disguises won't work only when you use your 'instinct'. How do you get instinct? By killing and hiding bodies. Contradiction in terms... There might be multiple ways of finishing levels but you can't experiment as there is no save option. When you fail, you will have to restart all over again including all the cut-scenes etc. Why did they have to destroy this franchise?

What game I played actually?????? I don't know because I don't think this is a game of Hitman series. It is completely different thing. If you never play the other game of this series may be you can like this game (I am not quit sure about that) but if you play the other game of this series then please don't even think to give it a try. Because I don't want another heart broken fan of thisWhat game I played actually?????? I don't know because I don't think this is a game of Hitman series. It is completely different thing. If you never play the other game of this series may be you can like this game (I am not quit sure about that) but if you play the other game of this series then please don't even think to give it a try. Because I don't want another heart broken fan of this series. Now let me tell something about the game, in the game there is a shiny bald guy, who was once very famous for being not detected under disguise but it this game he is too familiar to everyone that even under mask people are able to detect him from a mile away, That ruined the whole thing. Game story is linear. Its previous sandbox type game play is completely lost. All you can do that is try to sneak in (which is not a practical solution for this game) but most of the time you have to bang you enemy just like typical third person shooter. So the bottom line is its a heart breaking disappointment for the fan of this series.…Expand

Dear IO interactive,
Please get your heads out of your asses and give us the game you promised. You know, the one where you said "Absolution would be easier to play and more accessible, while still retaining hardcore aspects of the franchise". Seriously, what the **** were you guys thinking? I'd buy DLC for Blood Money any day over this pile of sheet. Thanks for ruining another greatDear IO interactive,
Please get your heads out of your asses and give us the game you promised. You know, the one where you said "Absolution would be easier to play and more accessible, while still retaining hardcore aspects of the franchise". Seriously, what the **** were you guys thinking? I'd buy DLC for Blood Money any day over this pile of sheet. Thanks for ruining another great franchise. Sincerely,
Pain McPain.

PS. The DLC costume for the Deus Ex character is the most retarded ****ing thing I have ever seen in a game. Way to go.…Expand

This game has destroyed all expectations of a possible worthy sequel to Blood Money. The gameplay has little similarities to the previous Hitman games and more similarities to Splinter cell: Conviction. One of the major let downs is how frustrating this games is as the disguise system is absolutely broken which makes using disguises obsolete as NPCs of the same clothing can spot you outThis game has destroyed all expectations of a possible worthy sequel to Blood Money. The gameplay has little similarities to the previous Hitman games and more similarities to Splinter cell: Conviction. One of the major let downs is how frustrating this games is as the disguise system is absolutely broken which makes using disguises obsolete as NPCs of the same clothing can spot you out from a mile away. This makes obtaining the Silent Assassin rating excruciatingly frustrating as one little mistake can/will destroy all of your hard work. This leads to the checkpoint system, a new addition in Hitman Absolution which replaces the the save system from the previous Hitman games. I don't like this system as it has more cons than pros (just like this game). It's quite pointless actually as it doesn't seem to do much except for saving current completed objectives and allowing you to spawn there when you restart to the checkpoint, BUT when you do restart to the checkpoint all of the enemies that have been taken out will respawn to where they were in the beginning of the mission, thus destroying most of the progress that was made. Although in some cases this can help where some enemies that were there before are no longer present as they were originally somewhere else, allowing you to proceed through the level with less difficulty. The graphics are probably is only pro about this game, also the user interface is more advanced and more pleasing to the eyes, but i didn't care much for this. I didn't really care for the story either as i didn't care for the girl. The only part that got to me was when 47 had to kill Diana where i thought she didn't really have to die. This game was one of the most frustrating games i have ever played and when at times I should have felt rewarded for finally completing a difficult mission I didn't due to knowing even more frustrating moments will come up and i just wanted things to be over and done with. I barely had any fun playing this game due to its broken mechanics which led to much frustration, screaming and swearing constantly after having to restart each mission over 15 times to get a decent end rating.…Expand

A poor addition to the Hitman franchise. Hitman was a series that didn't need changing, it was as if IO Interactive have never heard of the old saying "If it's not broke don't fix it" Everything that made Hitman so great and unique has been removed and replaced with material copied from other gaming franchises. As a result Hitman Absolution is very similar to Splintercell Conviction ratherA poor addition to the Hitman franchise. Hitman was a series that didn't need changing, it was as if IO Interactive have never heard of the old saying "If it's not broke don't fix it" Everything that made Hitman so great and unique has been removed and replaced with material copied from other gaming franchises. As a result Hitman Absolution is very similar to Splintercell Conviction rather than a Hitman game. The big open sandbox levels have been replaced with heavily scripted linear levels so it can tell a story. Previous Hitmans were all about gameplay, Absolution is more about a story. The story was like it was written by Steve Stiffler from the American Pie films, very childish sick gross out trying to be edgy but fails. In my opinion games should always be about gameplay, if i want a story i'll watch a DVD or go to the cinema. The less i say about the broken AI the better.…Expand

I have tried very hard to like this game. I tried every options, this game gives the player but the only one what was usefull for me was to find a good position and kill everyone from there. this game makes everthing wrong what a game can make. in some parts you have to play like you wont play. In other parts you feel like this game wants to kidding you because evertything you do to beI have tried very hard to like this game. I tried every options, this game gives the player but the only one what was usefull for me was to find a good position and kill everyone from there. this game makes everthing wrong what a game can make. in some parts you have to play like you wont play. In other parts you feel like this game wants to kidding you because evertything you do to be stealthy wont work. so you can say : ok lets take a big gun and rush this **** but it isnt that easy. You know ****ty quicktime battle events? yeah in this game you have a situation where you have to fight and after 80 cinematics, if you fail, you can start from beginning and watch the crappy cinematics with bad voice acting and animations again and again. This game feels like the developers think, players are the dumbest idiots in the universe. seriously HO likes quicktime events? Or pressing a button fast as you can to break something? I asked friends if they like elements like this and everyone answered : no. No one likes quicktime events so why the fuk developers still think in 2015 this is an good idea?…Expand

The game so god damn linear. Compared to blood money this is so bad.All they had to do was improve on blood money! . I want to walk around and finding a way to kill a target not being told exactly where to go...Whats the point in that. Plus 47 is way too close up to the screen

Just for removing the briefcase and appearing of sniper rifle out of thin air, while on official forums were lots of complaints before release. And yeah, in most this is not Hitman which we enjoyed with Bloodmoney. This is "on the run" like they are calling it, and there is lack of a manual save system, which were so useful to hanging around and experimentation that made the previousJust for removing the briefcase and appearing of sniper rifle out of thin air, while on official forums were lots of complaints before release. And yeah, in most this is not Hitman which we enjoyed with Bloodmoney. This is "on the run" like they are calling it, and there is lack of a manual save system, which were so useful to hanging around and experimentation that made the previous Hitman so enjoyable…Expand

The changes in comparison to previous games of the title are vast and **** We've got a simple stealth game. There is no pretty simulation of locations like hospitals, hotels, parts of cities and people's behaviour in them anymore. We won't excuse such **** up. It's a serious step of a degradation of game industry/ People who decide to make it should be sacked and do not work in gameThe changes in comparison to previous games of the title are vast and **** We've got a simple stealth game. There is no pretty simulation of locations like hospitals, hotels, parts of cities and people's behaviour in them anymore. We won't excuse such **** up. It's a serious step of a degradation of game industry/ People who decide to make it should be sacked and do not work in game industry anymore. I won't by any game of Square Enix untill there would be public excuses, public sacks, and a normal version of hitman.…Expand

I was really looking forward to this title... Sadly, i got disapointed. This is just not Hitman. First of, the graphics are outstanding abd the atmosphere is great too. But thats about it, as far as good points go. Negative aspects imo are:
Totally dumbed down game, shifting the playstyle towards the Splinter-Cell franchise.
No Map -> no mission planning or planning of tactics.
NoI was really looking forward to this title... Sadly, i got disapointed. This is just not Hitman. First of, the graphics are outstanding abd the atmosphere is great too. But thats about it, as far as good points go. Negative aspects imo are:
Totally dumbed down game, shifting the playstyle towards the Splinter-Cell franchise.

No Map -> no mission planning or planning of tactics.
No Sandbox-Levels -> Very linear gameplay
No Weapon Selection or Equipment Selection prior to a mission -> WTF? Why do i even unlock the stuff in the first place? Why preorder? So i only can use the stuff in this contracts mode.... this is a bad joke!
Totally dumb and silly story -> Wtf the Hitman suddenly becomes a like-able, daddy-like character? Sorry, this is the worst Hitman ive seen. Whoever came up with this stuff ruined just an other great Franchise.…Expand

This game is a big step backwards from Blood Money. It's over simplified and waaaay too story driven. The open ended gameplay is gone and the whole experience is like riding on a rail. Big mistake, avoid!!!

I have to say for players like me who consider the hitman series one of THE outstanding pieces of digital art produced in the last decade (shoulder to shoulder with games like planescape:torment, fallout and similar giants) Hitman:Absolution is nothing less then a grave insult. Taking all the elements that made Hitman its own unique style of murder adventure - all essential features, likeI have to say for players like me who consider the hitman series one of THE outstanding pieces of digital art produced in the last decade (shoulder to shoulder with games like planescape:torment, fallout and similar giants) Hitman:Absolution is nothing less then a grave insult. Taking all the elements that made Hitman its own unique style of murder adventure - all essential features, like free roaming in extensive levels, multiple VIABLE paths to dispose of ur victims without being noticed, hiding in plain sight have either been done away with or nerfed into oblivion
as somone who preordered the game months ago and has been fired up for it for more then a year I have to express my deep disapointment and can only warn u to not buy it and save ur money for a more worthy title…Expand

I waited for this game for years, being not aware of the fact the original development team is gone. Almost all of the features that made the original series so interesting, are gone in Absolution. I uninstalled the game after 30 minutes of playing.

I don't think you should consider this a hitman game in anything other than name. I think it plays a lot more like manhunt, if the violence was completely unsatisfying and it had a visit from the chest-high-wall-fairys. Among the worst aspects of this game are:
No ability to save the game. I appreciate this game was probably developed for a console crowd with PC as an afterthought butI don't think you should consider this a hitman game in anything other than name. I think it plays a lot more like manhunt, if the violence was completely unsatisfying and it had a visit from the chest-high-wall-fairys. Among the worst aspects of this game are:
No ability to save the game. I appreciate this game was probably developed for a console crowd with PC as an afterthought but consoles have had plenty of save game space for years. The "instict mode". I think it is meant to replace the map but doesn't provide any of the functionality of maps in previous games, or for that matter, an actual map like you can get of town centers in real life.
Disguises. I often got caught with disguises in the old games, but in this one I will spend ages smashing bottles to get a victim alone, kill them, and it won't let me take their clothes. If I do get their clothes I have to burn up all my instinct to get anywhere in the disguise. If I do get caught I cannot load I have to start the whole level from the beginning again because saving is so 2000 and late.
Can't choose to start with a sniper rifle or shotgun or M90... or anything but a wire and pistols. Maybe this happens in later levels but I am sure agent 47 could find another gun SOMEWHERE. How about the ones I picked up before the latest cutscene?
Cover based shooting pop up gallery. Ugh.
v00d00m4ns review is a good summary of other failings that while still bad annoy me slightly less than they do him.

Finally I have an AMD 8120, Radeon hd7970 and 8GB ram and really don't think much of the graphics either. They bog down far too much in plant areas to set it to ultra and I just don't think they are that good. I would say ME3 has far better graphics with a similar perspective and that runs nicely on max wherever you go in the game, so I think the people saying "nice graphics but..." are being too kind.…Expand

I decided it was worth creating a Metacritic account just to add another 0/10 review for this game. I bought Absolution on Steam as soon as it came out, because I had faith that it would be a Hitman game (or at least something close). I wish I could go back in time and warn myself, not so that I could save my money, but just so that I wouldn't be one of the many gamers who actuallyI decided it was worth creating a Metacritic account just to add another 0/10 review for this game. I bought Absolution on Steam as soon as it came out, because I had faith that it would be a Hitman game (or at least something close). I wish I could go back in time and warn myself, not so that I could save my money, but just so that I wouldn't be one of the many gamers who actually rewarded the people responsible for this enormous stab in the back. The fact that the developers had the audacity to call this "Hitman" and the fact that so many people seem to love it is about the most depressing and disturbing thing I could have possibly imagined. As a massive fan of all four previous Hitman games, I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that Absolution betrays virtually everything that made Hitman so special. Instead of amazingly open-ended self-contained missions, complete freedom of exploration and experimentation, careful planning and execution, and everything else that (until now) has made Hitman so great, we get a linear, typical, mainstream, and utterly forgettable pile of garbage with the worst story of any game I've ever played. Even 47 himself acts nothing like the real 47, even losing his signature look after the first two missions. But the most depressing thing of all is, because so many people seem to love Absolution, I think it's safe to say that Blood Money will be the last Hitman game. I had to give Absolution a 0/10 not because it's the worst game ever made, but simply because it pretends to be a Hitman game. To any true Hitman fan reading this review, please don't make the same mistake I did. Save your money for a real game.…Expand

Though Hitman: Absolution is a fun and interesting game, it betrays everything that previous titles like Blood Money and Silent Assassin stood for. Agent 47 isn't supposed to sneak behind walls and hide from people, he's supposed to take a disguise and hide in plain sight like a real hitman would. The new disguise system is completely useless. Though the idea of a group of people notThough Hitman: Absolution is a fun and interesting game, it betrays everything that previous titles like Blood Money and Silent Assassin stood for. Agent 47 isn't supposed to sneak behind walls and hide from people, he's supposed to take a disguise and hide in plain sight like a real hitman would. The new disguise system is completely useless. Though the idea of a group of people not recognizing you while your wearing their uniform is smart, I doubt every single Chicago police officer knows each other enough to look at you while your wearing a police disguise, notice they haven't seen you before and ask for your I.D. I thought this was the new amazing graphics and improved gameplay, classic Hitman game that I've been waiting for, I was definitely wrong.…Expand

How it went from Hitman Blood Money to this is beyond me, this is one of the most disappointing games I have ever played in my life, everything that made the other Hitman games good are not in Absolution, your best bet is to play the old Hitman games and pretend Absolution didn't even happen.

Contracts and Blood Money blew my mind so many years ago. So naturally I was looking forward to this game for a long time. Hitman become one of my most loved franchises. I went back and played the first 2 games about a year ago and while the graphics were limited the classic Hitman gameplay was as great as ever.... Then came along Absolution. I played through the entire game searching forContracts and Blood Money blew my mind so many years ago. So naturally I was looking forward to this game for a long time. Hitman become one of my most loved franchises. I went back and played the first 2 games about a year ago and while the graphics were limited the classic Hitman gameplay was as great as ever.... Then came along Absolution. I played through the entire game searching for a Hitman game. I found the story interesting and could appreciate how they tried to bring a different story to the Hitman series and for the most part it worked. As a 1 hour long movie its worth watching on Youtube. But as a game? What I got was a brutal kick to the face. Disguises don't work, It's impossible to progress without the stupid instincts mode, most of the time you are hiding in cover (since when did Hitman hide in cover?), plus many more gameplay problems. I will sum it up to say that this is the BIGGEST disappointment in my 25 years as a gamer!..... If they are going to bring back Hitman again, firstly Jesper Kyd needs to score it and secondly the design team need to play all the previous Hitman games start to finish multiple times. I fear without those 2 points. Hitman will never recover!…Expand

The Hitman you knew is gone.
Be prepared for an ordinary Cover-based stealth shooter that is very linear and with a silly story. They really cheated me this time, by putting the enticing label of Hitman on there, and giving me this uninspired, linear and braindead stealth-shooter, where you're basically not even doing hitman-work. The freedom of earlier games is completely gone, disguisesThe Hitman you knew is gone.
Be prepared for an ordinary Cover-based stealth shooter that is very linear and with a silly story. They really cheated me this time, by putting the enticing label of Hitman on there, and giving me this uninspired, linear and braindead stealth-shooter, where you're basically not even doing hitman-work. The freedom of earlier games is completely gone, disguises are tacked on and dont work like they should, gameplay elements seem to work against eachother. Broken checkpoint-saves. You're mostly just going door to door instead of planning and executing awesome assassinations...

The most fun I had in this game was going crazy and just go on killing sprees, the stealth mechanics used are just so old and boring, clearing a mission through stealth and not killing anyone has never been this boring before... much of the time I didnt even have a target.... yawn.

+ Graphics, sound

I was thinking of putting all the annoying game changes and disappointing quirks in Absolution here BUT I'm short on time so I'll cut to the chase and just say WHY this game FAILS.

- It's masking behind the great HITMAN-label and dont deliver.
- THAT and it seems they did'nt even try to make a hitman game. They put 47's face on Sam Fisher basically.

I'm deeply disappointed and I dont understand how they could do this to Hitman fans. We waited so long too.
I'm giving it 3 because of the Sniper Challenge, atleast that was fun while it lasted.

As I have been playing hitman after hitman since the first one, I can say this for sure, this game its nothing more than a generic stealth game, that most of the time your only goal its find a door, and when you finaly has the chance to perform a kill, its always a simple and not clever kill, its was lost the game essence, turning into a average game with a good story, hiding a boring gameAs I have been playing hitman after hitman since the first one, I can say this for sure, this game its nothing more than a generic stealth game, that most of the time your only goal its find a door, and when you finaly has the chance to perform a kill, its always a simple and not clever kill, its was lost the game essence, turning into a average game with a good story, hiding a boring game with a stupid mechanic of saves, and a lot of pointless goals. It's with a great sadness that I submit this review, from my favorite franchise, the first of the all five games, that I couldn't end, because after each level it was getting more and more boring.…Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
Having played this series on PC since it first launched (I got the first game the week it came out),I feel this is the worst Hitman to date. It plays more like Splinter Cell than any of the games so far in the series. You cannot set your kit up for each job (not even on replay),nor do you have access to the weapons you pick up and keep (for the main game part not for the making contracts part) including when you change to the next part of the chapter and are in the same area. So somehow you lose all your weaponry other than the silverballers and a garrote by hopping over a fence,entering a door,climbing to a roof etc. The storyline is decent and the graphics are very nice,yet with the having to roll and hide like Solidnsnake from Metal Gear Solid games on playstation 1 in order to use the weapons you have, makes the game feel completely not like the rest. If you want to start with a silenced sniping rifle and eliminate sentries,you cannot. If you want to use the bomb set up you cannot unless these items are specifically on that level. You must toss bricks,bottles and other assundries in order to mislead them (and this somehow repeatedly does not make them increasingly more suspicious) or bludgeon them to death with these same objects all in order to get to your target to shoot them with a silenced pistol when in at least one mission you could have sniped them cleanly. This is a complete departure from what made Hitman as popular as it was.Lets face it, if 47 lost his safe houses and had collected weaponry from doing jobs after losing them, he would set up another one. It isnt rocket science. If I wanted to play Splinter Cell or Metal Gear Solid,I would play those games.…Expand

I wanted to enjoy this game and the effort they put into the story and the cinematics but I think anyone can agree if you played blood money and past hitman games, this one would just make you mad. While the disguise system is more 'realistic' it just takes away all the fun. More realistic isn't always better. And although it tries to be more realistic it still fails, for example you areI wanted to enjoy this game and the effort they put into the story and the cinematics but I think anyone can agree if you played blood money and past hitman games, this one would just make you mad. While the disguise system is more 'realistic' it just takes away all the fun. More realistic isn't always better. And although it tries to be more realistic it still fails, for example you are in a chef disguise at the chinese parade, i kept getting spotted by chefs, its not like all the freakin chefs know each other at a giant parade. I mean maybe all the staff knows each other at a strip club, but at the parade? So if the game developers are gonna be 'realistic' at least be thorough. Also some of the level designs are terrible, terminal hotel design was terrible. As all the fans will agree, they took everything good about hitman, and turned it into crap. Also you can't pick your weapons, you're constantly getting points deducted unless you play flawlessly, man the list just goes on.…Expand

i think everyone who played the old hitman games could tell very fast that hitman absolution was a new direction. this is bad because i wanted sandbox levels where i have to kill my target anyway possible. i got maybe several parts or sub levels that were sandbox old school hitman style. the rest of the game was mainly get from point A to B. this made me very sad i wanted to open levelsi think everyone who played the old hitman games could tell very fast that hitman absolution was a new direction. this is bad because i wanted sandbox levels where i have to kill my target anyway possible. i got maybe several parts or sub levels that were sandbox old school hitman style. the rest of the game was mainly get from point A to B. this made me very sad i wanted to open levels not small segments of evading cops or going from one place to another. the old hitman games had way better story and they did not even go into the detail or base every mission around that story. also the new disguise system as everyone is saying should be, in my opinion, removed. it was implemented poorly and i do not get how the game testers were like i am getting spoted while in disguise, while in a crowd, from about 30 feet away... i mean its cool idea but terrible handicap for this game. the worst part is the lack of open hitman style levels, too much broken up levels where your doing nothing. i got bored really fast and did not bother to try to continue throught the game to try to reach that next sandbox level.…Expand

Honestly WTF, the game is not compatible with Windows XP.
3 H to install, 1h 30 to update and then nothing !
I asked Amazon to give me my money back because in the product description the game is compatible with XP...…Expand

The game is brand new and presents good graphics though, it is not as good as Bloodmoney. Also it has too many bugs. The gameplay lacks lots of details. For example, when you select your weapons or items they just appear in 47's hands without drawing them. This is definitely not acceptable for a game with such reputation.
I would describe it as a very disappointing game, especially for fans.

This game lacks the magic of the previous Hitman games. It's plagues with problems that any rudimentary check would have found. As is typical, another franchise gets completely dumbed down so that it can be shipped to a wider audience, compromising it's original flavour.

They have effectively changed everything that was good about it and turned it into a simplistic action-shooter for the Call of Duty generation who have ejected any semblance of intelligence in game design in exchange for constant, mindless, shooting action. Here is a run-down of
how old Hitman did things and the new Hitman counterparts:
OLD HITMAN
Vast open maps to explore withThey have effectively changed everything that was good about it and turned it into a simplistic action-shooter for the Call of Duty generation who have ejected any semblance of intelligence in game design in exchange for constant, mindless, shooting action. Here is a run-down of
how old Hitman did things and the new Hitman counterparts:

OLD HITMAN
Vast open maps to explore with multiple ways to make your way to the destination. A genuine feeling of being given a sandbox full of environmental oddities and independent AIs, with numerous ways to pick your way through them.

HITMAN: ABSOLUTION
Constantly being thrown from one linear corridor to another with (if you…Expand

I really wonder if the creators of this game ever played a Hitman game before of if they even really grasp what it was which made them iconic games. It is all well and good a video games developer trying to take something in a different direction but the Hitman games are very unique in many ways but it looks like none of that has really been conserved and what hasHitman: Abomination

I really wonder if the creators of this game ever played a Hitman game before of if they even really grasp what it was which made them iconic games. It is all well and good a video games developer trying to take something in a different direction but the Hitman games are very unique in many ways but it looks like none of that has really been conserved and what has has been diluted to the point that its almost unrecognisable and barely serves a purpose in this game. Putting previous Hitman games aside, this really is a sub par game and will soon be sold on offer and be thrown in the bargain bin. It really begs the question as to why this game was even made if the only credentials it has is riding on the back of previous titles. The best bit about this game would have to be the sniper challenge, which despite being quite a nice simple little level, actually manages to show off some little quirks, creativity and general personality of a Hitman game.

You can tell a lot of effort has been put into the graphics, nice action sequences and cut scenes, but that is where all quality ends. To compliment the expensive graphics and cut scenes you have a truly terrible story filled with badly voiced characters each and everyone of whom is a brain dead idiot. It is a very different aeshetic from previous games which generally able to add some humour and creativity into the mix; this game is dull, dark , grey, linear and definitely lacks a sense of humour and is an all round ball-ache to play.

Despite being an elite assassin, in this game Agent 47 has turned into a complete amateur who apparently pull off an assassination to save his life.When you're not failing to assassinate people you spend much of the game finding door ways and doing other exiting things like running from the police, who happen to be incredibly abundant with fantastic eyesight. Owing to 47's new found incompetence he does not have a map, however don't worry each area you find your self in is small enough you likely won't need one; in addition there is the new senses mode which will point out every object of interest in the environment for you, so don't worry about finding out how to take out a target. Killing someone in order to take their clothes as a disguise is now a waste of time as each policeman, bouncer, chef, etc in the game appears to know one another intimately and so are able to spot you as an imposter at 100 yeards.Moreover you cannot change your load out and you are very limited in how you murder someone and the ways you can are already pointed out by senses mode. Above all the game has lost its creativity, its quirckiness and personality and become something dull and linear where you spend far too much time getting from A to B.…Expand

Much smaller levels, very few paths to your target, very linear level design, no black market, no syringes or other interesting assassin tools, not many interesting ways to kill your targets, little and more often than not zero history behind your targets or any motivation to kill them besides them wanting to kill you.

Environments and targets have very little variation, most of theMuch smaller levels, very few paths to your target, very linear level design, no black market, no syringes or other interesting assassin tools, not many interesting ways to kill your targets, little and more often than not zero history behind your targets or any motivation to kill them besides them wanting to kill you.

Environments and targets have very little variation, most of the environments are in the US, the vast majority of which are in North Dakota and New York. Has an odd underlying crude sexual theme which simply doesn't fit very well with this game. The game's story focus essentially throws out the premise of being a hitman until its very end.

You can still be spotted by people wearing the same outfit as you as though every gardener on the planet knows one another, and being spotted in any difficulty besides easy is almost always certain death.

Contracts mode puts you in the same levels obviously designed with a linear story in mind. The only freedom it allows in the game's constrictive levels here is the contract's name/description, who you're killing, what single weapon you can choose to start with, and what you are wearing.

All in all, a serious disappointment and downgrade from Blood Money.…Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
My expectations were very high. I admit. I wanted Blood Money with new graphics and new missions. I wanted larger areas, more weapons, more accident setups. Even excuses you can say to guards, depending of your knowledge of the level, mention that the shower is broken upstairs, that's why you are in a restricted area to fix it, social engineering, additional ways to sneak, maybe even hack computers and technology devices, like spies, carry new and ingeniously hidden weapons on your person.

What did I get? A dumb-down arcade version of one of my favorite game. A broken disguise system, a ridiculously unrealistic instinct system, which would get you banned in most online games. I never wanted easy. I wanted to walk around a level, explore it, save a certain points to try things over and over to perfection, than replay the level and attempt to complete it as a silent assassin. I don't want a checkpoint system like ID Software…Expand

Don't trust the IGNs and Kotakus this time around - the PC version has flaws, my friend.

Here's the problem - the game tries to shoehorn it's story in everywhere, and in so doing, ruins the Hitman genre. You can't choose your kit at the start of a mission - you aren't with the Agency - so your starting gun every mission is always some POS unsilenced pistol. Want a sniper rifle? Hope theDon't trust the IGNs and Kotakus this time around - the PC version has flaws, my friend.

Here's the problem - the game tries to shoehorn it's story in everywhere, and in so doing, ruins the Hitman genre. You can't choose your kit at the start of a mission - you aren't with the Agency - so your starting gun every mission is always some POS unsilenced pistol. Want a sniper rifle? Hope the level designer left you one - often it's in the perfect sniping spot too, so you don't have to use brain cells finding one yourself. You can't carry weapons over from mission to mission, either. This Killed it for me.

Levels are small, cramped, and linear, often culminating in you opening a Door - it's cutscene promotion. You can spend all day being as stealthy as possible, dealing with a total lack of autosaves, and in the cutscene you SCREW UP THE HIT - The devs want you to play a story, not Hitman. Disguising well runs off "Instinct". You get more instinct by killing people. Hitman Absolution puts you in some crappy cycle of killing people you don't have to, and losing points for doing so (they kept that), to get the "Instinct" you need to disguise well. Dumb.

But you need to do this because the guard AI is hyper-suspicious of similarly dressed people now. Often, you'll have the guard disguise and find yourself sneaking and action rolling from cover to corner - in plain view of guards - just so they don't look at you too closely. Walking anywhere near them blows your cover, but they don't care about a similarly dressed person action rolling around lol. There's still a few AI bugs - I've been spotted through walls, thus having to restart the whole level because there's no autosave feature, even on PC. When you do reach one of the few checkpoints in the game, even they are dumbed down - the game forgets who you killed, what you have, guards respawn and bodies disappear - it's the worst checkpoint ever.

The graphics are a nice improvement. Hitman 4: Blood Money was a fantastic game - you did all the planning, all the killing, the level design was huge and open, you picked your guns and thus your strategy, you could autosave before a difficult part (and that cut down a lot of repetition). Whoever designed Absolution decided these were all negatives - a story does the planning; a cutscene does the killing - sometimes, because the story has people survive; the level design is narrow and linear to promote a single, definite path; you don't pick your guns - the designers give you only what you need, often in the place you'd use them anyway (goodbye Silverballers); and whoever designed the save system should be shot repeatedly and thrown off a balcony, because the autosaves are gone and what remains is a broken shell of a checkpoint system as we know it today. Hitman: Absolution is a stealthy shooter with nice graphics. But it's definitely not Hitman - it's been dumbed down so much that what's left is the bald guy and the title. In all honesty, if you liked the "plan your own kill" part of the genre, fire up Blood Money again - it's not so dated that your eyes crawl, and it's the essence of what a good Hitman game is. I just wish someone told the developers of Absolution.…Expand

The game screws most of what used to give me pleasure in the Hitman games to focus on a story that is embarrassingly bad. I just hated it. After 3 hours playing in hard and trying to do it "as it has to be done", i just decided to run to the end killing everyone in my way, just to end it. And i know i'm not the only one. I played the 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 Hitman, have it in CDs, have it on steamThe game screws most of what used to give me pleasure in the Hitman games to focus on a story that is embarrassingly bad. I just hated it. After 3 hours playing in hard and trying to do it "as it has to be done", i just decided to run to the end killing everyone in my way, just to end it. And i know i'm not the only one. I played the 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 Hitman, have it in CDs, have it on steam too, have the DVD of the movie that i also saw in a cinema. I pre-purchased Hitman absolution the day i could and i played the sniper challenge to get all i could in it and 3 millions points : I AM A HITMAN FAN AND I AM ANGRY !!!
I actually played more to the sniper challenge (13 hours) than to the real game (12 hours).
I can detail but v00d00m4n did it very well, 100% of what he says is correct.
I will add that i feel abused : that is not what the sniper challenge was promising us. The sniper challenge was showing diferent ways to kill some targets, to hide them, to unlock weapons for the actual game (so in the inventory right? Nope, there is Absolutely no inventory in hitman 5...).
And it was obviously a reference to the first Hitman 1 mission which was a snipe mission, telling us that there would be some snipe missions in hitman 5. Nope.
I give 2 for the sniper challenge, the nice graphisms (even if they could have been darker), and the knife throwing system (even if it really make the game easier, it make sense).
And because i don't like to be that negative, i will now write what would have been nice :
- the story : it has never been important in the Hitman serie. But since it was the main concern of the developers, it should have been better. We have to protect a girl that as been created like us. It is a bad plot (indeed "inspired" from leon the killer movie), but let say we keep it. I would have like to see good reasons to do that : a nice cinematic showing 47 and her taking good time together watching a movie, playing a game or something. A cinematic that shows what she can do, at the very begining : that would explain better why 47 want to keep an eye on her, as a student killer or as a threat for him. The best would have been to be able to play her like we can play catwoman in batman, supposing she would have had other "powers" than 47 (women disguises for a start).
HITMAN SHOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE A PROFESSIONNAL KILLER AND NOT A STUPID NOOB
Spoiler : in the game story, they are actually 2 times at least when the bad guy can kill hitman after a stupid cinematic where hitman is awefully bad. And he just doesn't... When running out of a place, hitman uses the elevator. And if the elevator doesn't work, he repairs it with pieces strangely sprayed all over the building. PLEASE TAKE THE STAIRS!!!!
- the gameplay : the disguise system is 90% of time a handicap compared to keep your own clothes. The idea was not that bad : if a small town cop sees a cop that he doesn't know, he will be suspicious. That make sense in some cases, but do all the CHICAGO policemens know each other? And the plummers? The AI should have been programmed mission by mission, differently, and with a briefing : "be careful 47, this is a small town where most people know each other"; or "Note that a lot of people come for a short time in that hotel, you should be able to walk free in most of it's parts"
And there could have been a way to talk, to try to lie to people before they start shooting at you. At least a 3 sentences choice, find the one the guy can believe in and let you go (or leave witout harm). And not for every NPC but some of them. And in real life, some people stop asking questions with a litle tip. That could have been easy to put in the game, if we had got some money like in Blood Money. That would have been an easy but expensive way to go in a place. Again, not for every NPC, just some of them. And who can be bought and who will do his job whatever the price is something that the 47 instinct could have told. "This guy looks like a dealer, i can probably buy him."
- there should have been an inventory like in blood money rewarding you : good work = money = the gun uppgrade you want. Being a professionnal killer without a silent gun sucks. - the close fighting should have been thought differently. this aze space system sucks. I would have liked different attacks to choose : fist in the face, kick in the legs and so on. This is not a priority, but it sucks to be a professionnal killer that can't fight properly. - the linear action sucks and should have been avoided at any cost, even with a focus on the story. I could have liked a Mass Effect like system where my actions would have impacted the story. I would have liked to be able to guide Victoria in a way or the other : get a normal life or become like 47.
- there HAD TO BE a snipe mission in addition to the sniper challenge. And no, i won't buy a DLC for that.
Not enough space here. Just don't expect more from hitman absolution than a bad sneak/shoot.…Expand

Oh and forgot I ABSOLUTELY WANT TO DECIDE WHERE I ENTER FROM AND HOW. and not sprinkling some guards to enter the only way possible and them so dumb not noticing me turning the wheel in the real Hitman games they would have shot me immediately even on easy.

this is not hitman its mgs, or splinter cell or whatever. mostly thanks for a retarded disguise system u cant play smart anymore ur FORCED to play hide and seek w enormous mob of guards.
and most disappointing is story, mr47 now drama queen (

I'm never pre-ordering a game ever again. Don't be fooled by the marketing and all the trailers. Don't fund this developer tendency of over-hyping a game to make a quick buck. The only reason I completed the game, was to appease the feeling of regret it gave me for wasting perfectly good money for this poorly crafted "game".

The Hitman you knew is gone.
Be prepared for an ordinary Cover-based stealth shooter that is very linear and with a silly story. They really cheated me this time, by putting the enticing label of Hitman on there, and giving me this uninspired, linear and braindead stealth-shooter, where you're basically not even doing hitman-work. The freedom of earlier games is completely gone, disguisesThe Hitman you knew is gone.
Be prepared for an ordinary Cover-based stealth shooter that is very linear and with a silly story. They really cheated me this time, by putting the enticing label of Hitman on there, and giving me this uninspired, linear and braindead stealth-shooter, where you're basically not even doing hitman-work. The freedom of earlier games is completely gone, disguises are tacked on and dont work like they should, gameplay elements seem to work against eachother. Broken checkpoint-saves. You're mostly just going door to door instead of planning and executing awesome assassinations...

The most fun I had in this game was going crazy and just go on killing sprees, the stealth mechanics used are just so old and boring, clearing a mission through stealth and not killing anyone has never been this boring before... much of the time I didnt even have a target.... yawn.

+ Graphics, sound

I was thinking of putting all the annoying game changes and disappointing quirks in Absolution here BUT I'm short on time so I'll cut to the chase and just say WHY this game FAILS.

- It's masking behind the great HITMAN-label and dont deliver.
- THAT and it seems they did'nt even try to make a hitman game. They put 47's face on Sam Fisher basically.

I'm deeply disappointed and I dont understand how they could do this to Hitman fans. We waited so long too.
I'm giving it 3 because of the Sniper Challenge, atleast that was fun while it lasted.

Despite the deviations and minor shortcomings, it remains true to its roots. It just brushes them aside for a while, just long enough for it to tell its story- a story where the traditional contracts and other usual components just wouldn’t fit. [January 2013]

It's not a bad game by any means, and it does fix some problems with the controls that plagued previous games, but having the story that essentially makes Agent 47 less of a hitman and more of an espionage hero, makes Absolution a decent stealth game but not a fantastic Hitman game.